Connect your tablet (or laptop) to your smartphone and get internet access on the move. In this guide we explain how to use your phone as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, or how to use internet tethering.

Share your phone's internet connection with other devices such as a tablet or laptop

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Connect your tablet (or laptop) to your smartphone and get internet access on the move. In this guide we explain everything you need to know to use your phone as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot on iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry. Updated on 10/6/15 with the video tutorial above. Also see: 37 best smartphones 2014.

Unless you happen to own a tablet with 3G or 4G connectivity, your mobile internet connection will likely be through your smartphone.

A smartphone's small screen isn't as good as a tablet's for browsing the web or streaming videos from Netflix, though. The good news is that it's possible to use your smartphone as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, and share its data connection with your Wi-Fi-only tablet.

This setup is called tethering or internet sharing, and many smartphones provide this feature, including iPhones, BlackBerrys, Windows Phones and, of course, Android handsets.

What does tethering mean for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Phones?

Tethering is when you turn you smartphone into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot and share your phones 3G/4G data connection. Once you've turned tethering on, any device with a wireless connection can connect to the internet via your smartphone's connection.

'Tethering' means the same thing no matter what smartphone OS you are using. The only difference is how you enable it on each platform.

Does my smartphone work as a Wi-Fi hotspot?

Not all smartphones support tethering, but most popular models do, including the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S3, Nokia Lumia 920 and BlackBerry Z10. You don't have to use Wi-Fi to share your phone's internet connection: some allow you to connect a laptop (possibly even a tablet) via a USB cable. Alternatively, you might be able to use Bluetooth.

Regardless of the connection method, it's important to check whether your mobile tariff allows tethering before using your smartphone as a Wi-Fi hotspot. In some cases, the mobile operator can prevent the option from appearing on your handset if tethering isn't part of the deal (iPhone owners will notice that Personal Hotspot simply doesn't show up in the General settings menu, for example).

In other cases, it's physically possible to set up tethering but if it's disallowed on your tariff you could find yourself with a warning or even being cut off for breaking the rules. Some operators are more lenient than others, but always check if you're not sure.

If you happen to have a giffgaff SIM in your iPhone, you're out of luck as giffgaff isn't recognised by Apple as an official carrier. You'd need to jailbreak your iPhone to get around this.

I'm not allowed to tether on my tariff. What are the alternatives?

First, and most obviously, you could switch to a different operator or tariff (or request a bolt-on to your current tariff) that allows you to use your smartphone as a Wi-Fi hotspot. That might mean paying more each month, but it's likely to work out cheaper than the alternatives.

If you haven't already bought a tablet, you might consider buying one with 3G or 4G support. You'd then have to get a data-only SIM card for it, and either pay monthly or pay as you go for this separate tariff.

Another option is to invest in a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, also known as MiFi. These battery powered devices are essentially wireless routers into which you pop a SIM card, just as you would a 3G or 4G tablet. They cost from around £50 or might come as part of a package with a data SIM.

If you want a device that will work in other countries as well as the UK, you'd do well to investigate Globalgig - reviewed.

How does tethering work?

Put simply, the process involves enabling the hotspot option on your phone, configuring wireless security with a password to prevent other people piggybacking on your connection, then connecting your tablet to the wireless network just as you would with any hotspot.

You'll have to enter the password the first time you connect, but on subsequent occasions, your tablet should connect automatically. It's the same process if you have a MiFi dongle.

Pitfalls to watch out for

One of the potential problems with using your phone as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot is that your tablet will think it's connected to a fixed broadband line, rather than a mobile connection.

This means it could gobble up your limited monthly data allowance very quickly. Whereas your smartphone will avoid downloading app updates and any other large data files on 3G, your tablet could assume that's perfectly fine.

For this reason, either disable automatic updates or downloads. Or keep a close eye on how much data is being used by looking in your phone's settings or via a dedicated app.

On your smartphone, disable the hotspot running when you're not using it as this will prolong battery life.

Click the links below to learn how to configure popular smartphones for tethering:

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Comments

Bev said: Comments,Bev,HI again! I need to clarify my "hotspot". I have NOT signed up for "hotspot" on my phone. I do not want it. But I stll need to know if my son sets up hos AT &amp; T "hotspot" if he will use my data? I have the bare minium usage with Verizon. I am on Media com as my internet service ( not Verizon) PLEASE CAN ANYONE GIVE ME SOME ADVISE ON THIS ISSUE?

Bev said: Comments,Bev,I am on Verizon &amp; do not pay anything extra to have the "hot spot". My son is on AT &amp; T. He is at my house &amp; wants to set up a "hotspot" on his phone to talk with his wife overseas. Will this go onto my data usage???

vidyasagar sn said: Comments,vidyasagar sn,Thanks good guide of internet tethering its informative. I can now make hotspot connection.

Jim Martin said: Comments,Jim Martin,Sorry about the lack of replies to the comments on this article. Not sure how they got missed. Anyone with a current question, please do post and we'll do our best to give some tech support.

yo smart said: Comments,yo smart,u lot dont know thats why.

Jacob Bivins said: Comments,Jacob Bivins,Can You Use A Kyocera hydro as an Hot Spot plzzzzzz replay

zee said: Comments,zee,Hi PC Advisor, i have a problem while tethering my iphone 6+ to any android phone. android phone does not see my iphone in wifi list when i turn on tethering. there is no such prob with laptop or ios devices as they see it everytime

malle said: Comments,malle,Hi PC Advisor and others :)I use my phones 4g as a wifi hotspot for all devices in my home (wdtv, tablet and two computers) My question is: Do I use internet data from my 4g provider when I stream movies/music from my one computer to another?

CHANEL said: Comments,CHANEL,THIS IS SO CRAZY LMS FACEBOOK BE LITTIT HARDWORKS GOOD AND SCHOOLTHIS IS CRAZYI NEED IT NOWI CALL YALLBUT IT DO NOT WORKS NEVER SO WHEN I CALL YALL .YALL IS GOING TO KNOW THIS IS MEBYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CHANEL said: Comments,CHANEL,I GOT SOMETHING DO U NEED A ACOUNT TO MAKE A HOTSPOT CAUSE I REALLY NEED ONE THANK YOU

Sajeev Arun said: Comments,Sajeev Arun,Great article. I have doubt though regarding the login IP. When using a mobile device as a wifi hotspot, if I login to my mail using another device, what will the IP be shown as - the hotpot device or the device I am using to access the mail? Thanks for your help!

JB said: Comments,JB,Hi. Have managed to set wi-fi on my wifes sony xperia smart phone to pick up our new sky fibre optic broadband (obv only when at home) and somehow disabled accessing internet via her mobile interent allowance (o2) as that allowance is quite small.
However, although i could enable the mobile interent access too (then having both) i wouldn t be sure which methos was being used if you see what i mean, ie so that we dont have to keep switching it back to mobile interent access when out! is there a way to set one as the priority eg the fibreoptic sky broadband.
thus, when at home - sky is accessed first , when out sky is tried but of course wont work so then mobile o2 broadband accessed
anyone kindly help? JB

betty hester said: Comments,betty hester,How do you do that?

Tad Harrell said: Comments,Tad Harrell,I routinely tether, (or try to tether) my HP laptop to my iPhone5's personal hotspot. However, it has been extremely erratic with the connection - many times, my laptop does not recognize, or see, the hotspot network.The laptop has no problem recognizing or connecting to other Wi-Fi signals.Should I, and how can I change the Ethernet type on my iPhone to say, 802.11g or what changes can I make?Thanks much.

A said: Comments,A,My laptop is connected to my iphone with 3G connection, but when i open a browser in my laptop it says that "This weboage is not available"

Scott said: Comments,Scott,I have an iPhone 4 and its a work phone my monthly allowance is 1g but I would like to use my home computer allowance which is 5g how do I use this data allowance when I are at home so I don't eat into my work phone allowance ! I have face book kik and Holdem poker ony phone and I want to use this but use my home computer allowance

Andy said: Comments,Andy,HiI have an iphone and use the hotspot for my lap top. I have just got a Goclever TAB R70 tablet, which I have set up to get my home wifi, but it will not find the Iphone manufacturers are unsure why this would be and claim I am the first to ask, doubt it, have you come across this and is there a fix??many thanksAndy

Karthik Athreya said: Comments,Karthik Athreya,I have a DSL connection with a modem which doesnt have...i have 2 smart phones both with wifi. Can I use one of my smartphone as wifi router by connecting it via usb and share my dsl connection..(I cant use ad hoc option as my network card is corrupt)

Kunal said: Comments,Kunal,I have a problem.. When ever i connect as per the above article, the website thinks that I am connected using a mobile and displays the mobile version of the site on my laptop. Is there a way to get around this?